Let us pay!

Church parishioners forced to dig deep for repairs after Chancellor halves reclaimable VAT allowance

- Eleanor Burleigh

LABOUR has been accused of abandoning historic churches by slashing vital help to rural communities who have been forced to spend tens of thousands on repairs.

Parishes are struggling to shoulder the high costs of the upkeep of England’s Christian churches, as volunteers plead with the Government to commit more money to their preservation.

Unlike countries such as Austria and Denmark, which levy opt-out church taxes on citizens, England’s world-class portfolio of ecclesiastical buildings is financially dependent on its volunteer wardens and the generosity of its dwindling congregations.

While the struggle to cover the high costs of maintenance work is nothing new, wardens — including Andrew Fearn, who oversees the Grade-II-listed St Mary Magdalene in Newark, Nottinghamshire — have at least been able to claim VAT back on repairs over £1,000 through the Listed Places of Worship scheme since 2001.

But that changed after Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ cost-cutting efforts in the spring, with its total annual allowance almost halved from £43million to £23million and a new spending cap of £25,000 introduced for individual claims.

Deficit

Andrew, 74, had just begun a £4.5million renovation project at St Mary’s and assumed he would be able to reclaim a substantial amount from the government.

He said: “Instead, we were left with a £600,000 deficit. It felt like the rug had been pulled out from under us.”